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To Rotimi Amaechi, who is still not sure who he is

Published

1 year ago

June 8, 2025

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By Ikeddy Isiguzo

CHIBUIKE Rotimi Amaechi is lost in minor crowds if there is no major controversy around him. The most recent is his prevarication over whether he is Igbo or Ikwerre. Are both identities not mutually exclusive? Some have noticed Amaechi in more Igbo outfits these days. Everything counts.
Amaechi is from Umuordu, Ubima, Ikwerre Local Government Area, Rivers State. There is no doubt about that much. A State of Rivers’ standing would not have had a “foreigner” as Speaker of its House of Assembly for eight years and Chairman of the Conference of Speakers. If being the Speaker was a mistake, Amaechi would not have been awarded the governorship of the State for eight years.

He promoted himself to national prominence with his controversial roles as Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum. Cracks in the fold cascaded to the departure of some governors who won elections under Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC. Amaechi was a proud leader of the movement.

APC’s victory in the 2015 elections and in 2019 further raised Amaechi’s status. On both occasions, he was the Director-General of President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign. His national prominent has failed to improve his fortunes in the politics of Rivers. He could not gain victory for his proposed successor in 2015. The 2019 election was an utter disaster.
Wrangling over APC leadership in Rivers resulted in multiple primaries going to the 2019 elections. The courts, including the Supreme Court, ruled that none of the primaries met conditions for the selection of the party’s candidates for the election.
Amaechi quickly extricated himself from the loss that shut APC out of chances of winning at least some seats in the state and national legislatures.

What has not proven easy is which of his identifies he would use. He appears to prefer wearing different hats to match occasions, situational identity. At his 2015 Senate screening, he identified himself as an Ikwerre prince. He dressed in that role, he told Senators.
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe was one of the earliest to officially question Amaechi’s Igboness. He had wondered why Amaechi left out South East in the rails projects of the Federal Government. Amaechi retorted that his name, Amaechi, was easier for Igbo speakers to make meaning of, than Abaribe. His claims about the South East being in the rails projects are yet to be seen.

When in March 2018, he delivered the Convocation Lecture at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, his otherwise important lecture titled, ‘The Igbo In The Politics Of Nigeria’, his identity was a major distraction. It was a thought-provoking delivery laced with provocative darts at the Igbo.

“It is high time they (Igbo) came into national politics. They are completely out of national politics, and it will not pay them. If Igbo are not found in national politics, it will be to the detriment of their children. I don’t know what they will do now for voting against the APC. For refusing to support the APC, they cannot come to the table to demand the presidency slot,” he said during the question and answer session.

The reference to Igbo as “they” is noteworthy. He had a verbal confrontation with Nnia Nwodo, then president-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, at the event. Nwodo, in his remarks, kept on telling Amaechi to inform his people, the Ikwerre, that the civil war was over; they should return to being Igbo. Amaechi remarkably began his lecture by asserting he was Igbo. He said it was his undeniable heritage.

Six years earlier at a public event in Abiriba, when Amaechi was still in PDP and governor, he had protested being addressed as an illustrious Igbo son. “I am Ikwerre,” he corrected then 78-year-old Chief Joe Irukwu, a former President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. Many in the gathering were taken aback.
“For people like us in the APC, if the Igbo had come and voted Buhari, they would boldly tell Mr. President and the National Chairman of the party that presidency should go the South East since the South-South; South-West and North-West have produced President. What argument would the South-East come up with now to convince anybody that they deserve the slot for 2023 President?,” Amaechi asked in an interview he granted after the 2019 election.

His claim to being Igbo is seasonal. “I am a bona fide Igbo man. My name is Amaechi, but President Jonathan who says his name is Azikiwe cannot speak the Igbo Language. He says his name is Ebele; let him speak Igbo and let us see,” he said at APC’s campaign in Aba in January 2015. The choice of who he is was not his to make. Our origins are hereditary. Our rejection of them makes no difference to the fact of who we are, by birth.

What does it matter if Amaechi wants to be Igbo instead of Ikwerre or the other way round? It is important to politicians angling for the South-East to produce a President in 2023. While their campaign is for an Igbo President, or a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction, it is convenient for them to forget there are indigenous Igbo populations in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Kogi, and Rivers States. They are finding out that they are really fighting for a President from the South-East.

The President’s ally, Amaechi, stands a better chance than those who feel he is crowding the field.

The advantage remains Amaechi’s if he gets busy with building the rails in the South-East as he promised he would. There is little time left.
Now that the President’s busy schedule accommodates naming rail stations, one is fascinated by the station in Enugu being named after President Muhammadu Buhari. Trains running in the South-East – and Amaechi’s South-South – should be a more pressing issue than whether Amaechi is Igbo or Ikwerre. Many would not care whichever he is if he gets the trains running. And would that not count as competence for Amaechi, in line with Mamman Daura’s prescription?
Amaechi does not have to be Igbo or Ikwerre to run for President in 2023. There is no such constitutional requirement. Unless he has forgotten, Amaechi can just run as a Port Harcourt Boy (thanks, Duncan Mighty). Even Governor Nyesom Wike would not deny Amaechi being a Port Harcourt Boy.

.First published in 2022, is republished now that Amaechi is still in search of his identity.

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Delta Govt Suspends Commissioner For Works(Highway and Urban Roads) Hon.Izeze Indefinitely

Published

5 hours ago

August 10, 2026

Austin Ojomah

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The Delta State Government has announced the indefinite suspension of Hon.Izeze Rume Yakubu Reuben, Commissioner for Works (Highway and Urban Roads) with immediate effect.

According to a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr Kingsley Eze Emu, the suspension is to enable the Security Agencies carry out an unbiased investigation of allegations associating him with the assault on the Senior Special Assistant on Protocol, Mr. Simon Mudi also known as (Temple) at the Petroleum Training Institute(PTI) Effurun,recently.

The statement added that the State Government remains committed to the maintenance of public safety in all circumstances which guarantees law and order and the sanctity of lives.This position is upheld even when institutions of state are involved.

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Confusion as Cross River deputy gov escapes death in Ugep crash

Published

5 hours ago

August 10, 2026

Austin Ojomah

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The Deputy Governor of Cross River State, Dr Peter Odey, has reportedly escaped an accident involving his convoy in Ugep, Yakurr Local Government Area of the state.

The incident occurred at about 2pm on Sunday while Odey and his entourage were returning to Calabar from Obanliku Local Government Area, where they had attended a stakeholders’ engagement on the proposed concession of the Obudu Ranch Resort.Government Although the condition of the deputy governor could not be independently confirmed as of press time, several members of his convoy were reportedly injured in the crash.

Although the condition of the deputy governor could not be independently confirmed as of press time, several members of his convoy were reportedly injured in the crash.

A Government House press bus conveying some appointees and staff attached to the Office of the Deputy Governor was said to have veered off its lane near an Army checkpoint in Ugep before crashing into three sandbag barricades.News One of the occupants, whose identity was not immediately known, reportedly sustained an injury to the leg, while another was said to have suffered bleeding from the nose.

The extent of the injuries could not be immediately ascertained, as those involved were expected to undergo medical assessment.History Sources also disclosed that several vehicles were damaged in the accident, although the extent of the damage remained unclear.Lakes & Rivers The incident is reportedly the third accident involving the deputy governor’s convoy in the past two months, raising concerns over the condition and availability of vehicles attached to his office.

Further checks indicated that the fleet attached to the Office of the Deputy Governor had been depleted, with vehicles from the governor’s convoy reportedly being deployed for official movements when necessary. Officials in the Office of the Deputy Governor declined to comment on the incident when contacted. Further details on the crash, including the condition of the deputy governor and other persons involved, were still being awaited as authorities assess the incident.

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Titilola Adeleke, leads women in protest against arrest, violence

Published

6 hours ago

August 10, 2026

Austin Ojomah

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The Osun State First Lady, Titilola Adeleke, on Monday led a protest by women in the state against what they considered “indiscriminate arrest and violence” ahead of Saturday’s guber election.

Adeleke, who was joined by women from different groups of traders and artisans in the state, led the march, which commenced along the Osogbo-Ilobu Road and terminated at the road leading to the Osun State Police Command along the West Bypass.

Also present at the protest were the State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Ayobola Awolowo, and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Market Affairs, Eniola Omotosho, among others.

The protesters, armed with placards bearing inscriptions such as “Election is not war,” “Stop indiscriminate arrest of our husbands,” “We want a free and fair election” and “Police must be neutral,” were prevented from proceeding to the main entrance of the command.

They were, however, attended to by the Commissioner of Police in charge of the election, Samuel Etaifo, who assured them that the command would address their concerns.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Adeleke said the women were on the streets to demand a peaceful election and called on the police to invite some notable chieftains of the All Progressives Congress for questioning over the rising incidents of violence in the state.

She said, “We are demanding a free and fair election in the forthcoming poll. We want peace; let there be peace. Invite APC chieftains for questioning. They should stop killing our husbands and children. Make them sign an undertaking. From what we heard, we learnt that they will start picking our leaders up this week.

Last Friday, they picked up the Commissioner for Environment. He was brought here, stripped naked. This is not good enough. They should leave our people alone.”

The governor’s wife subsequently presented a letter containing the protesters’ demands to the police commissioner.

Responding, Etaifo said the command had worked hard to de-escalate tension in the state since his arrival and assured the protesters that their demands would be considered.

“I have been here for the past two weeks. The IG was here because of the heightened tension in the state. For the first time in history, the IG directed the CP election to come three weeks to the election.

“If you notice, since I came, we have relative peace in the state, but the problem we have is that we cannot continue to tolerate what you have done today because it will not contribute to peace; it will cause tension again. Let us assume that you come out now and the other party comes out, then both of you meet; what will happen?” Etaifo said.

He added, “We are going back and restrategising to attend to all your demands. Why I am discussing with you is because we don’t want tension before the election; we want peace. We cannot conduct an election in an insecure environment.

“I have a mandate from the IG to come to the state to stabilise things, give an enabling environment for every political actor to exercise their franchise, and create public confidence for everyone to come out to vote on election day.”

Etaifo warned that the police would not tolerate any act capable of negatively affecting Saturday’s election, adding that anyone caught violating the law would be arrested and taken to Abuja.

“If you are a manipulator of any election, that is even the worst.

The IG and Nigeria will not forgive you. I will arrest you and take you to Abuja because this election is a federal election; we must get it right,” he said.

The police commissioner commended the protesters for conducting a peaceful demonstration but urged them to return home to prevent any incident.

“I want to applaud you for this protest being peaceful, but I want to implore you to go back so that nothing will happen to you. I will assign my men to escort you back to where you started the protest from,” he said.